The America.gov Scams Are Coming. Here's What They'll Look Like.
On September 29 the White House launched America.gov, a single website with a chatbot for passports, Medicare, disaster relief and other federal services. An executive order now requires every federal service used by more than 100,000 people a year to connect to it.
That makes it the most heavily advertised new government address in years. Scammers copy exactly that kind of name: it is new, people don't yet know what the real one looks like, and it promises money and benefits.
We have not yet seen reports of America.gov-specific scams. This post is a heads-up on what they will look like, so you recognize one before it reaches you.
What the fakes will look like
A fake site only needs to look right for the two seconds you spend glancing at the address. These are the shapes to expect. The addresses are illustrations, not known scam sites.
| Trick | Example address | Why it fools people |
|---|---|---|
| Words joined together | americagov.us | Reads as "America gov" at a glance, but it isn't a .gov address |
| A hyphen added | america-gov.com/benefits | Looks official; anyone can register a .com |
| .gov in the middle | amer1ca.gov.help | The address actually ends in .help. Note the 1 in place of the i |
| A lure word attached | americagov-benefits.com/login | "Benefits" plus a login page is the classic setup for stealing a password |
They will reach you in a few ways:
- Texts and emails saying your benefits are on hold, a refund is waiting or your account needs to be "verified on America.gov."
- QR codes on printed letters, flyers or stickers. A QR code hides the address until you scan it, which is why scammers like them.
- Search ads placed above the real site when you search for "America.gov".
- Fake chat pages that copy the real chatbot and ask for your Social Security number, bank details or a payment.
How to tell the real one
The real site is america.gov, and the one test that matters is where the address ends.
- Find the first single slash after the site name. Everything before it is the site name.
- The site name must end in
.gov, with nothing after it.www.america.gov/benefitsis real.america.gov.help/benefitsis not: that site name ends in .help. - Ignore words in front. "benefits-", "secure-" or "login." before the name proves nothing.
- Type it yourself. Don't follow a link or QR code from a text, letter or ad to reach a government service. Type america.gov, or use a bookmark you made.
Why .gov is worth trusting: only US government organizations can register a .gov address, so a scammer can't get america.gov or anything ending in .gov. They can buy almost anything else.
One more check: the government does not ask for payment in gift cards, wire transfers or crypto. Any page that does is a scam, whatever its address.
If you already clicked
Clicking alone usually does little harm. What matters is what you typed in. Act quickly:
- Entered a password? Change it now, on the real site, and anywhere else you use the same one. Turn on two-step sign-in.
- Entered bank or card details? Call your bank using the number on the back of your card, and ask them to watch for or block charges.
- Entered your Social Security number? Go to IdentityTheft.gov for a recovery plan, and consider freezing your credit with the three bureaus.
- Report it. Forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM), report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and report online fraud to the FBI at ic3.gov.
Reporting helps even if you lost nothing: it shows investigators which new scams are spreading.
Check before you open
The free ScanHawk app checks a QR code or link and gives you a Safe, Suspicious or Dangerous verdict, with a plain-English reason, before anything opens.
- Scan the QR code on a letter or flyer, or paste the link from a text or email.
- ScanHawk follows the link to where it really ends up, checks that address against known-scam lists, and looks for the lookalike tricks in the table above.
- If it's Dangerous, the app stops you from opening it by default.
No checker catches everything, and a brand-new fake site may not be on any list yet. The habit that never fails is the one above: look at how the address ends, and type america.gov yourself.